WARNING: I understand that Natsu's past is NOTHING like this in the anime. I understand that this is also somewhat out of character for a person such as him, in neither past nor future would he ever commit crimes of such a magnitude. However, I have done my best to keep all characters in their proper behaviors despite such. I merely made this because well 1) Gray's had his turn, 2) Lucy's had hers and 3) Erza's had her's as well. Impatience and a lack of knowing as much about Natsu as we do about the others led to this being created. Read or don't read :) (and then there's the Zeref issue... SERIOUSLY wut teh fack?)
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail
Enjoy~
He was held up against the trunk of the tree by the pole in his right lung, thrown by the man drenched in rain water a few feet away. Ikaku, an old guild-mate from before Natsu had ever joined Fairy Tail, smiled at him sweetly. His red bandana holding back a slick, black pony tail, slanted eyes narrowed and he said in a heavy eastern Fiore accent;
"My apologies, old friend," a sly, wicked grin, "but no matter the age you were-are- our strongest soldier. I cannot allow you to waste yourself here with these petty weaklings. Come, the master wishes for your return home~"
Said pink haired dragon slayer struggled to lift his head, he couldn't allow himself to be taken when he knew his friends- Lucy, Gray, Erza, and Happy- were expecting him to return to their temporary inn for the length of their mission. As for the dinner they were expecting him to bring back, well they would just have to put up with hungry stomachs.
"You slut-sucking-son-of-a-bitch," he hissed weakly, viciously, and raised a hand to land on the pole (previously used as a weapon by Ikaku himself) protruding from his chest and having barely nicked his right lung, "if you know what's good for you, you'll back your ass up."
The man dressed in a black vest trimmed with a red lining gave a wild grin as he watched his former comrade burn through the long pole to cut it short. Ikaku could clearly see the intelligence flaming through Natsu's eyes as he did the same with the other end of the pole, desperately clenching his teeth as he was forced to burn his own skin in the process. He dropped to his knees, the pole smaller but nevertheless still in his shoulder, and with a hand set on the ground to stabilize him the dragon slayer lifted his head.
"I'll kill you," he said, irises fogging up with a type of gold cloud that acted like a drop of blood staining clear waters.
"Those eyes," the other man smiled obsessively, "those are the eyes of a dragon."
Natsu gave no response and promptly launched himself forward, giving the black eyed Ippiki Oomaki guild-member a rib breaking punch to the chest.
4 horrible snaps could be heard and Ikaku released a pool of blood from his lips as he was thrown several feet back. The resulting blast of air that exploded out around his opponent's fist somehow managed to push him back further. The dragon slayer followed his attack up by appearing behind Ikaku and delivering an upper cut to the back of his head. He then pulled back, puffing up his chest and letting lose a ferocious blast of fire. If the black haired man had been engulfed in his opponents flame, nothing would have been left.
That was just how hopelessly pissed Natsu really was.
And it was all was done in 0.68 milliseconds.
"You've gotten better, Natsu of Mortem," said teenager was not at all pleased to hear his old nick-name. Ikaku found his mouth full of mud as he received a vicious blow to his knees, knocking him down. An ankle was grabbed by the Fairy Tail's famous Salamander; he was swung around in a wide arc and slammed into a nearby tree. Even with such horrendous wounds he can still cause so much damage to me, the other thought chokingly as pain streaked through him. Guess I should make my move already. Stepping onto Natsu's face he used it as a platform to propel himself into the air where he ducked his head down and spat out his signature barrage of bullets. One buried itself into Natsu's left leg and the additional blocked by a breath of fire while all others missed.
His leg nearly buckled but managed to stay firm as the dragon slayer shot up after him, swinging up with the assistance of a tree branch he kicked a ball of flame towards Ikaku.
In response to the attack the black haired mage grabbed a nearby tree and used it to pull himself out of harm's way. Making the hand sign for boar he summoned a series of assassin's knives all lined up in a row and with a skillful kick he launched them all towards the pink haired teen. Arms afire, Natsu threw them forwards to release his own wing-cutting attack, deflecting the blades.
Enough of this, he thought irritably and before any of the deadly projectiles had even gotten the chance to touch the ground he'd grabbed one up and appeared behind his former comrade to press it against his throat.
Ikaku swallowed a lump in his throat and smiled nervously, "you truly are a fascinating member of our guild."
The cold blade was pressed down hard enough to draw a sliver of blood, "I am no longer your comrade," he hissed in response. Charcoal eyes looked away, "I no longer take the lives of innocent people."
"But you feel the lust to, don't you?" Ikaku tried to resurrect something in him, thinking that perhaps he could spark the familiar murder in the fiery teen. "You still feel that urge to make another suffer. That you cannot deny," he pointed out and the knife at his throat began to draw more blood.
"If you're trying to convince me to come back to the guild willingly then I'm going to tell you right now to stop bullshitting yourself," snarled Natsu.
Noticing the lack of denial Ikaku grinned, "But you do don't you? All I am doing is stating facts."
It was almost disturbing how Natsu was unable to tell whether or not his former guild-mate's words were true. Growling he threw the other up against a large tree. Killing him would only prove him right and he'd already promised to the Gramps when he'd first joined the guild that he'd never take an innocent life again.
He ignored the thought that acknowledged Ikaku's lack of such.
"You're not even worth killing, Ikaku," he said.
"That's too bad. Well, the master did say that both of you were asleep," whispered the other disappointedly. Suddenly he gave an over sweet smile and said perkily, "but don't worry, I'll wake you up~"
Ikaku flipped his legs up and almost kicked Natsu in the chin, landing both feet further up the tree and using magic to stick them there. He sucked in a breath and breathed out a blue-Gray, poisonous gas.
Which Natsu took as encouragement to clap both hands together and blow through them, letting lose a furious barrage of flame.
The man wearing the symbol of a howling wolf on his collar observed his struggling 'friend.' Watching him quiver and stubbornly disobey his body's commands for rest. If he kept pushing him like this then he'd die before he could get him back to master Kentoushi…
But still, no regular human could be doing what Natsu currently was. Ikaku let himself be swallowed by shadows and ignored his 'old friend' as he shouted for him to come and 'face him like a man'.
"Natsu, you still are truly the strongest member of our hidden guild," Ikaku smirked as he disappeared. "Ippiki Ookami, the guild of Lone Wolves waits for you."
"He's been gone a while now," Lucy said worriedly gazing out the window.
A figure walked through the dark of night and rain, panting.
"This is Natsu we're talking about, that idiot'll be fine," Gray scoffed.
The figure leaned heavily on his right leg and limped lightly on his left.
"Maybe he got lost?" suggested Happy far too perkily.
The figure spat out some blood before walking into the light, pink hair falling before half-lidded eyes.
"Why do you sound so hopeful there, you?" Lucy asked suspiciously.
At the dark hour no one noticed him.
Not seeming to care about her tone, the blue cat pulled out an enormous fish. "I can have this all to myself if he doesn't come back soon enough!" he drooled.
At the dark hour, no one noticed his bloodied Fairy Tail tattoo.
"Selfish!" burst the blond.
He stumbled into one of the many hotel/inns without taking notice to the black cat watching.
"I'm beginning to get worried as well," admitted Erza, grabbing her chin between her index finger and thumb and making a thoughtful sound.
The bloody, mud caked figure walked past the receptionist, ignoring the sleeping form.
"Perhaps we should go look for him?" offered the red haired woman.
The figure ascended the stairs shakily, panting feverishly and nearly collapsing three times.
Gray scoffed rising to his feet, "knowing that dope, Happy is probably right. Or he's getting his ass kicked by thugs."
The figure limped towards the door labeled 2840.
"It can't be helped, seeing as how we're in an unfamiliar town," Erza said.
"Stupid flame brain," mumbled Gray, who would never admit to being worried over his friend.
As he was reaching for the door it swung open violently, grazing the tip of his nose.
"Who's the moron, moron?" Natsu rasped with less than the usual enthusiasm, leaning against the frame heavily. His friends were voiceless as they saw the amount of blood staining his clothes and Lucy held in a gasp as she saw the pole protruding from his vest.
"NATSU!" they all shrieked as he fell forwards.
"Shit, is that a metal pole in his chest?" sputtered Gray.
"Gray go get an ambulance, Lucy bring me some towels!" ordered Erza. The dragon slayer could feel her warm hands on his skin, calloused from the grip of a blade as darkness corkscrewed towards him.
"Natsu…!...stay awake…tsu…OI!...
NATSU!"
The silhouette of a small boy stood before him. Caked in mud and blood, wielding nothing but his fists. Somewhere, wind chimes sang eerily and a gust of wind blew his pink hair over his little face. Eyes filled with murder stared right back at Makarov and the fists shook with the urge to attack but instinct told the boy to stand down. He was wise for obeying them.
But the old man was far too focused on the clearing full of dead bodies lying at the youngling's feet. He knew because he'd seen it, the boy had taken out an entire village alone. Police, fathers, women, children, all lay dead at his feet. The only survivor was a music box, open and slowly singing a tune. A white scarf splattered with blood flapped a little in the breeze.
The Fairy Tail master felt his instincts screaming for him to run louder the longer he stared into those golden eyes, the only things he was able to make out among the dark face.
"Must I kill you as well?" the child asked, almost oddly sad.
Makarovs eye's wished to widen but he forced himself to appear calm, "do you deem it so?"
This boy, he could save him from this darkness. Perhaps it was too deep to drive away completely, as said by the lust and excitement in his almost animalistic eyes, but the old man's experience saw the little flicker of light left.
He was hesitating, thinking and looking at his feet. He looked up; "Old man, do you know where my father is?"
Makarov shook his head, "no, but I will be more than happy to help you find him."
The boy hadn't looked very pleased at his first answer but seemed to brighten slightly when the short mage offered his assistance. His grin was the first time any light was allowed to escape his tiny heart in over a year.
"You won't be able to find him," he said. In less than a second he appeared in front of Makarov and threw a blazing fist through his heart.
Without his consent, his mouth moved; "what's your name, little one?" Darkness threw him into abyss as he listened to the pink haired boys echoing response.
"Natsu!"
Leaping up into a sitting position with a startled yelp, Makarov breathed heavily for a few moments. Sweat fell from his nose as he said to the white sheets, "So your darkness is returning, huh?"
"Is he really going to be ok?" Lucy asked, concerned.
Natsu could smell the medicine in the air when he finally came to sometime later, though he was too exhausted to realize his eyes were closed. For the most part his entire body was numb. Though, of course it was his chest that throbbed rather dully, like a sore of some sort, and his leg ached uncomfortably. Due to that he felt his breathing rather restrained and was glad he didn't need a breathing machine.
"That idiot, what the hell was he doing out there?" Gray wondered sourly, griping his pant leg and growling, "Who did this to him?"
"I don't know. The important thing is that he'll recover," Erza reassured. "We can ask him what happened when he awakens."
Suddenly, Natsu found that he really didn't want to be awake.
"Natsu, I'll let you eat that fish if you wake up soon," murmured Happy and said dragon slayer felt the young, blue cat put a paw on his face. Clearly he was worried.
"Happy," Erza began, "do you know anyone who would do this to Natsu?" he could feel her examining his exhausted face and he held his breath.
The exceed frowned, "no one that would be brave enough to try." There was an uneasy silence as the group watched the teen that had always seemed unbeatable. Not completely realizing he was holding it, Natsu released his breath slowly and brought them all out of their separate thoughts.
"God damn," he hissed with a voice that said it hadn't been used for some time, squeezing his already closed eyes tightly shut. "Somebody get Lucy off of me, she's really heavy," the dragon slayer complained, pretending to think that his blond comrade was sitting on him as he found breathing harder than normal.
"Oi!" she shrieked automatically, "I'm not that heavy!"
"Hey Natsu, you think I could try lifting Lucy as a weight during training?" asked Happy, completely forgetting the tense atmosphere a few moments ago.
"Ooh! That's a great idea," Natsu approved.
Erza smiled in a relieved way and before Lucy could scream out her indifferences to the duo she asked her wounded comrade, "How do you feel?"
"Stiff," he grunted and attempted to sit up.
"Idiot, are you trying to re-open your wounds?" snapped Gray and pushed him back down.
Pushing back up he replied; "what was that you no-brained-popc-" Natsu was cut off when a lightning bolt of pain tore through his chest and he swallowed his words, hand flying up to his bandaged wound as he fell back onto the mattress.
"Natsu?" Happy whined worriedly, running up to his best friend.
"I-I'm okay," he ground out and forced himself to breathe normally.
"Should I get a nurse?" asked Lucy worriedly.
"N-nah," Natsu disapproved, shaking his head. "I'm okay now."
"Well then I suppose perhaps you could tell us what happened?" Erza asked gently, knowing that she had to ask sooner or later. Suddenly the group found it hard to see past the pink bangs shadowing their friend's face.
"Nothing much really," he replied casually.
"Nothing much?" Gray shouted, leaping to his feet. "You came back with a god damn pole in your chest. You think that's nothing?"
"Oh shut it, would you? Gunna give me a headache," Natsu complained with a scowl.
Gray opened his mouth, eyes cold and ready to explain to Natsu how much he didn't care about his headache through an assembly of childish name calling and more yelling, maybe some physical aggression too, but was interrupted by Erza.
Her own eyes narrowed threateningly and she said with a commanding tone, "tell us who did this to you, Natsu."
For the first time ever, her comrade did not show fear to the spine chilling glare. He simply stared back, expression unreadable, before turning away.
"Just someone that I used to know. That's all it is," he stated simply.
"Someone you knew?" asked Lucy, ignoring the 'that's all it is' part.
He nodded slowly, "used to. He just caught me off guard."
Somehow Gray found that difficult to believe. No matter how much the two argued the black haired ice mage was still mature enough to realize that his friend was actually a much better fighter than he himself. Not that he'd ever say so aloud, no need to inflate the dragon slayers already large ego. Natsu was a skilled fighter whom, no matter how one may try, never got startled by much of anything seriously. He may jokingly jump to humor someone such as Romeo or even Erza when she was giving out sets of glares on a bad day but was never actually startled.
Eye's narrowing, Gray probed, "and just what was this friend's name, huh?"
He was rather unprepared for Natsu to zip his head around and snarl heatedly, "he was never my friend, frozen-brain." Natsu seemed particularly disgusted by the suggestion and turned again. "No more questions, I'm tired and want to sleep."
Happy wordlessly curled up next to the teen that could be considered his father, having raised him from being an egg to now. He seemed to be the only one not subject to surprise towards Natsu's outburst.
The pink haired dragon slayer slipped into unconsciousness rather rapidly after yelling at Gray and Lucy felt guilty for making him push himself. Erza had dragged the doctor in shortly after Natsu had fallen asleep and the man gave him a new dose of morphine, informing them of his exhaustion and the threat that their reckless questions had to his wounds. The man had a good heart, but in his hospital both patients and guests were to abide by his rule or "get the fuck out."
Still, Natsu had every right to be exhausted she knew that. They all did and yet they'd made him answer questions he clearly didn't want to even think about…
"Erza, do you know when Natsu's birthday is?" the spirit mage asked suddenly.
"Eh?" the red-head responded, unprepared for the question. "I'm pretty sure it's on," she trailed off and looked to Gray for help.
"Um, was it that day?" he asked her. "Y-you know, that one day in that month?" Gray attempted weakly, a drop of sweat forming on the side of his face.
Erza's eyes widened as she began to realize the situation, "this isn't right, how can we have known him for six years and still not know his birthday?" It was unnerving to have been living so closely with someone and suddenly one day realize that you really knew absolutely nothing. That throughout the years of knowing that person you never bothered to ask them anything more than "what's your name?" "Has someone erased our memories?" she asked more herself than her friends, ashamed.
"Hey," Lucy began, meeting the stunned expressions painting across her friends' faces, "just how much do we really know about Natsu?" She whispered helplessly.
Her question was met by silence as they all stared at their comrade's struggling face.
"I asked the same thing when Erza was caught by Jellal back then, didn't I?" Lucy continued and Erza narrowed her eyes, pain swimming in them. "I really thought," she stumbled, "I really thought that we'd all gotten to know each other finally." The blond looked at her hands, "what with everything that happened on Galuna Island, facing Deliora and finding out more about Gray. And then with me and my father," she paused, glaring at her thumbs, "and how he attacked Fairy Tail. And finally all that happened with the Tower of Heaven. Through all of this we have learned more about each other and grown closer- we can support one another, that's what a family does right?"
Swallowing a lump in her throat she looked up to her silent comrades, "so why is it that we don't even know his birthday?"
Darkness and blood surrounded him, his small fists shaking. The fire inside him bubbled eagerly wishing to escape and burn more and more. The town had been startled to see him, a sweet little boy, destroying so many people so easily; ripping through the guards and the fathers, the women and even the children. Natsu had listened to them crying and screaming fearfully, bathing in their blood.
And loving every moment of it.
The little music box that sang at his feet, the wind chimes, the breeze all seemed to calm the mysterious quaking of his little heart. Master Kentoushi would surely be pleased, not that he cared at all. The man was annoying and stifling; giving obnoxious praise for things that Natsu did on instinct. Someday, when the elder was no longer useful to him he'd have to kill him as well.
Speaking of elders a withered old man stood at the lip of his little lake of death, he wasn't sure he liked the way the man's presence made him feel. Why did it seem so familiar?
This person needed to be killed, he decided. He was a threat to what Natsu had left of Igneel and the scarf flapping in the wind seemed to remind him of this. He narrowed golden eyes and faced the man properly the urge to leap forward and tear him apart stopped only by the instincts that said; wait a moment, this one has strength in him.
Stupid instincts, why did they always have to be right? The short statured man was surveying the surrounding area, taking in all the dead and knowing that it was Natsu whom had taken their lives.
Heartbeat quickening, faster and faster.
"Old man, must I kill you too?" he asked sounding oddly sad.
Natsu could smell the white haired geezers fear in the air, watching as his outward appearance remained calm. He wanted to kill. Faster and faster.
"Do you deem it so?" queried the other in response.
Natsu stared at his feet and thought for a few moments. A part of him, the one that screamed to kill him was, for the first time in a long, long time met with another voice. You have taken enough life, hurry up and repent before Igneel is angered. Faster and faster. The old one needed to bleed. Faster and faster. This feeling of warmth was summoning up the displeasure of killing.
KILL IT NOW.
Everything stopped.
"Old man, do you know where my father is?" he asked looking up hopefully. Igneel will never forgive this senseless nonsense, whispered his heart, not until something is repaid.
The elder shook his head. Igneel hates humans, doesn't he? He says that they are bothersome and only create meaningless death. This man wants to take your life, remember what your father said? "Survival of the fittest," argued the side that wished oh so bad to kill. Demons hissed and taunted him, fighting back against his light. The part of his mind that knew this was a dream screamed for it to stop, no more of this. No more killing. But his pleas went completely unheard.
"No, but I will be more than happy to help you find him," offered Gramps. The voices all suddenly went quiet and a little spark that the dragon slayer had no idea even existed within himself popped into a burning flame. Hope allowed a smile.
Even despite that new feeling that quenched the thirst for blood Natsu found that his body no longer belonged to himself, taken by the demons when his guard was down.
"You won't be able to find him," they made him say, launching his body forwards and punching a hole through the guild-masters chest. Blood exploded outwards and the old man looked at the demonized child, "useless old man, burn." Flames engulfed his master and the elder man screamed in agony.
Even after Makarov had burned and died, Natsu's dreams did not stop. He did not wake up.
Natsu, the pink haired, fire-breathing, dragon slayer who always so full of energy and always so strong, had fallen ill. Very ill.
The sudden on slot of fever had been so unexpected that the doctor was unable to explain or figure out where it had come from. Nothing they did to push it down effectively induced any sort of positive response from the teen's body and no matter what he did it only made the problem worse.
Fairy Tail's famous salamander's eyebrows were pressed together and drops of sweat raced over his feverish skin, he twitched agitatedly in his sleep. Erza could see the nightmares written on his face, having faced enough of them herself, and wished so desperately to take them away from her comrade.
Gray could see the strain on his face as well, guessing that the nightmares were true to their name if they were enough to induce such a reaction from his equal. He clenched his fists and stood.
"I'm going to find the one responsible for this," he announced.
Erza gave him a glare fit for a pure blood demon and hissed; "you're staying here."
"Yes ma'am," he squeaked and obediently sat back down. Just then Lucy walked through the door with a lacrima in one hand and a bag of lunch for the three in the other. She handed the cold sushi box to Gray and a cake to Erza who had insisted she would need no more than the desert, and was about to pass a fish to Happy when she saw him curled up at Natsu's side, fast asleep. For the first time since meeting him Lucy thought he actually looked like a cat and she gave a soft smile.
"He must be really worried," Erza commented softly with that motherly tone she sometimes used in stresses situations.
"Mm," agreed the blond with a nod, still staring at the sleeping duo. They seemed so lifel- no! They were both alive, Natsu would make it through this and the two would be back on their feet to liven things up again.
"Lucy, what's with the lacrima?" Gray asked, attempting to take her away from the fretful expression dripping off her face.
"Oh, I figured that we should use it to call Fairy Tail and tell them that we might not be back for a while so they don't worry. I don't want to leave Natsu here alone," she said firmly. That's right, Natsu is strong. He'll make it through this.
Erza nodded, pleased, "I agree, we need to be here in case the person who injured Natsu comes back."
"But do you know how to use it?" Gray asked. Lucy, who'd previously been feeling rather accomplished and for the first time in a while, useful, froze.
"U-um, w-well I," she stumbled, trailing off and sagging her shoulders, "I don't."
The scarlet haired knight swallowed a bite of her cake and reached out a hand, "here, I'll show you how." Lucy put her own bento down on a nearby chair and watched closely as Erza channeled some of her magic into the crystal ball. "Every mage has their own magic signature which is dependent on the type of mage and how powerful they are. You have to know what these two things are to know their signature before you are able to call them. All you have to do from there is imagine the face of who or the place you're trying to contact, channel your magic into the lacrima, and think about that person."
The little ball began ringing in the woman's gloved hand and Lucy turned to her, asking; "what do you mean by that specifically?"
"Well, each person has a different personality. Like Gray and Natsu, ice and fire. Gray is generally calmer and thinks things through first while Natsu rushes in head on and asks questions after," Erza explained.
"So by knowing the person, you know their magic signature?" the blond pieced together.
Erza, remembering the conversation they'd had earlier regarding how much they knew of Natsu said distractedly, "yeah."
"Oh! Erza and Lucy! Are you doing well?" Mirajane asked merrily from the lacrima, interrupting the three's brooding.
"Y-yeah, we're just fine. How are things at the guild?" Lucy replied.
There was the sound of laughter and a glass breaking in the background that was immediately shushed and Mira smiled, "everyone here is well, but we've been rather worried about all of you. You said you'd be back almost two weeks ago now," she frowned.
"That's why we called. Our situation will probably keep us here awhile,"Erza's voice rang out strongly.
Mirajane, as if suddenly noticing the white furniture and walls that the hospital held, was suddenly very worried, "where are the guys?" she asked.
"Right behind," said Gray, waving his chopsticks in the air. Lucy and Erza moved to let him be seen and for a few moments Mira looked relieved. In those moments there was the sound of people cheering in the background that no amount of shushing could cease.
"Gray!" Warren cried.
"You're all okay!" someone who Lucy couldn't recognize by voice alone yelped happily.
"That's a relief," sighed Max, pushing forwards for his face to be seen through the lacrima, "we'd heard that a nearby town had been killed off."
"Eh?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah," Evergreen put in, waving her fan, "everyone right down to women and children were murdered," she shivered. "What kind of heartless monster could kill a woman?" she asked.
"Oi, what about the kids?" Elfman asked, sweat dropping.
"What town is this?" Gray ignored Elfman and paid no attention to the dusty haired woman's last reply as he stood.
"Gray," Erza warned, "Haven't I said already? You aren't going anywhere." She had that demon look again.
The black haired man desperately pushed down his fear, shivering slightly, he looked to her and said, "why not? The person who did that to Natsu could be there! And what happens if they come here, huh?"
"The person that did that to Natsu?" Mirajane asked, concern furrowing her silver brows.
Oopse, the thought could be seen on each face as they waited for someone to explain. In the end it wasn't needed as Erza moved away to let the struggling teen be exposed.
"Is that," she whispered, horrified, "Natsu?" The guild grew quiet, seeing the woman's face pale and her eyes grow large. The master hopped up next to her and gazed with a seriously concerned expression on his old face.
Lucy waited for someone to say something, to confirm it for Mira.
"Yes," she said when no one spoke up, "he's hurt pretty bad."
"Is he okay?" Macau asked franticly. Elfman growled and held his hands at his sides, muscles popping and shoulders shaking angrily.
"That idiot, what did he do to himself?" Gajeel grunted, actually managing to hide his concern well enough in his voice.
There was a hesitation before Gray decided to speak up, "the bastard's just bein' lazy. I'm sure he'll be back on his feet in no time."
"Erza," Makarov asked, still serious, "could you please explain to me what happened?"
The red haired mage shook her head, "Natsu refused to tell us when he first woke up. All we got out of him was that it was someone he once knew."
The guild grew silent.
The guild master turned his gaze to the wood counter and made a thoughtful noise in the back of his throat. The shadowed boy covered in blood and death appeared in his mind briefly and brought him to his feet.
"I'm coming over," he said finally, "there are some things that I would like to discuss with you three." No one could stop their master then, not when had that look on his face. The call ended and they were left in a shadow of muteness.
"Wait," Lucy protested weakly, as if she expected him to hear now that they were disconnected, "the situation isn't that serious, right?" she looked to Erza for help.
"We know very little of the situation, Lucy," the knight reminded. Behind them, Happy let out a disrupted murmur in his sleep and Natsu grunted.
Makarov arrived just as the three were forced to leave and visiting hours closed, tossing them into the cold night rain. Happy was allowed to stay after hours because he simply would not leave no matter what anyone did, the nurses took pity on him and the doctor got tired of trying.
"Oh, hey master," said Gray carelessly, hiding his trepidation behind a lazy look.
"What's going on here, master?" asked Erza. Lucy was only able to look back and forth between the two expectantly.
"Hmm," Makarov began, "I'll tell you on the way," he said turning around and walking forwards. "We have a guild leader to talk with," he said darkly.
The atmosphere became heavy, "wait, you don't mean a raid?" Gray cried.
"Of course not, that only comes if they don't agree with us," Makarov stated bluntly.
"Oi," the black haired ice mage said, the wind whipping past him cruelly as his master completely ignored him.
"Could it be we're going to talk to the people who did this to Natsu?" Lucy asked, he voice filled with horror. Erza watched the old man nod his head with a calculating gaze.
"I had wanted to stop you guys from coming here in general; it's far too close to that place. But you left before I could properly stop you and I suppose Natsu was too preoccupied to remember this place. Though to be fair, it has changed quite a lot since he was last there," the guild master rambled.
As the three stepped off the clean, stone sidewalk and onto the dirt path that led into the forest, he looked up and said, "Fairy Tail is not the only guild that Natsu has joined."
"What?" sputtered Gray.
"Hasn't he been a part of Fairy Tail for a long time, though?" Lucy protested.
"No, it makes sense. He joined us six years ago; it was 7 years ago that Igneel disappeared. He had plenty of time to join a different guild in the time it took before he joined ours," reasoned the ever wise Erza.
"So you're saying that," Lucy asked, "the one who did this is from..?" The three looked to their master expectantly.
"They're not an official guild, their way of life isn't very legal so to be a part of the system would mean that they'd have to obey all the rules," he explained. "Their name, Ippiki Oomaki, means Lone Wolf and the dark guilds pale in comparison to the crimes they have committed."
"So then, if they aren't an official guild then how do they get their money?" Lucy asked.
Makarov stopped and hesitated before answering, "They steal it from the corpses of the people they kill." The shadows that fell across his face and the owl that hooted in the distance made the words all the more eerie. Lucy suddenly felt very sick, Erza looked rather angry and Gray took a step forward after a few moments spent recovering.
"You can't be serious! Natsu would never be a part of a guild like that!" He spat, furiously denying that someone who cared so much for the life of his friends could have been a part of something so dark.
His guild master turned around and continued walking down the path as he further explained, "I'm sad to say that he was. The boy was very lost when I first found him; it seems that Igneel failed to teach him proper social behavior because killing came all too easy for a child of his age."
The trees above them whispered to each other and Lucy found herself walking closer to Erza than before, the wind seeming unnaturally cold all of a sudden. Figures and shadows seemed to be walking with them, on either side of the path but never taking a step on it. The blond wasn't sure if whether or not she was just imagining it nor did she appreciate the voice that sounded unexpectedly in front of their group.
A tall, shadow of a man stood with a regal posture wearing a pointed hat, well ironed suit, and shoes that would have gleamed silver if the moon wasn't covered by clouds.
"Well, well," he said, voice deep and almost seductive, "seems we found ourselves a few little urchin fairies, eh boys?" he leaned forwards on a cane. The shadows surrounding them laughed manically and somewhere in the distance a chainsaw started up.
"Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew?" sang one suggestively. Lucy squealed and reached for her keys.
The man laughed and waved him away, "maybe, but not yet. We have some things to discuss first, Franky."
"I don't suppose we could discuss these things inside the warmth of your 'guild', Kentoushi," asked Makarov, completely unfazed, "it is rather cold outside tonight and I'm sure your men have raided each heat source from the victims houses already, it has been a few days since you murdered everyone in it."
Lucy felt her entire body freeze in place and Erza stared wide eyed at the sickening man before her, smelling the heavy scent of a classic cigar despite the distance between them as Gray's eyes narrowed threateningly.
"Ah, but how could that dingy, sodden, old, rotten little town provide anything of proper warmth, Makarov-san?" The voice reminded Gray so much of a black leopard, should it be given one, that it made his skin crawl. The way the 'r' was rolled in 'rotten' reminded him of a snake and the intelligence in his eyes was so much like that of crow that he almost mistook them. They flashed, "But if you were to bring us back our dragon slayer, I'm sure it would get much more heated."
The three slipped into fighting stances as the danger shadowing their hospitalized companion triggered instinct.
"Oh~!" squealed Franky the other shadows felt encouraged to close in on the path a little more, "Do the predday widdle Fawies wana fight dah big bad monstahs?"
"Why is it that you suddenly want Natsu?" asked Makarov flatly, ignoring the surrounding commotion.
"Because we need our strongest member if we want to take out Giran," he said darkly, "as well as a few guilds here and there." Giran was considered to be one of Fiore's biggest cities, taking the size of Magnolia up a few million houses. "Immigrants have been flowing into that city for some time and if we can take out all those people then we'll gain quite the fortune. Plus there's the added bonus of other guilds coming to try and take us out~" he sang.
This man, Lucy decided, was wickedly disgusting.
"And if Natsu refuses?" Makarov asked.
"Oh he won't," another man with a red bandana and long black hair sidled up next to his master.
"Ikaku was the one who we sent to retrieve our Natsu. But it appears that reasoning with him was useless," said Kentoushi with a hint of disapproval in his voice. "Though I will admit your methods were rather strange. I'm surprised he did not kill you on the spot for showing such disrespect," he commented.
Ikaku bowed his head a little and apologized, "I suppose I didn't think it through enough, sir."
"Natsu would never kill anyone!" Lucy said.
"It would be going against his own morals as well as Fairy Tail's," agreed Erza firmly.
"Oh~? But don't you know? His moral before joining your little skippy band of fun and pixy dust was the following;
There is no such thing as miracles and magic in this life,
The only truth is the guillotine falling to your bare, broken neck.
The boy had quite a fascination for burning things, but mostly seemed drawn to death and carnage," Kentoushi sneered. "Why, you can ask Makarov himself. After all, he is the one who first saw him rip apart a quaint little town up north. He was the only one who wasn't killed in the incident," the man, still leaning on his cane, looked past his knuckles at the short old guild master whose patience was growing thin.
The three looked expectantly down at their master and he sighed, lowering his head for a moment before admitting, "I cannot deny that I witnessed the destruction that boy brought to the town. But the fact that he was able to adapt to our guild so quickly proves that the power of his light was far stronger than his darkness."
"Darkness that you believe to have sealed away, right?" came Ikaku's voice. Erza, Gray, and Lucy were all unable to do anything more than watch the rest of the conversation, struggling to take in the horrible truth. "You couldn't clean away something so deep all alone so you brought them along with you to show them and get their help?" The mage threw his head back and laughed, the shadows laughing right along with him. "You cannot wipe away instinct."
"That may be true, but what we are erasing isn't instinct. It's the darkness you have created in his heart," with that Makarov turned. "When Natsu awakens, he will decide the next move."
"I look forward to his return," sang Kentoushi as they left him in the distance.
"We will save Natsu from this nightmare," Makarov murmured to them, "but he won't let us do it alone. Our job is to stand by him and fight if necessary."
"Right," the three said in unison, nervous and drowning in their own separate thoughts.
OW.
That was it. Just; ow. He felt cold and hot at the same time, no longer able to control his own body temperature as Igneel had taught him to. Pain pulsated in his chest and his head screamed at the slightest brush of fabric, the quietest whisper of wind. Reality and nightmare had melded together, passing hands back and forth so fast he no longer knew the difference between them.
He had absolutely no clue if the voices he heard and the people he saw through the barest slivers of his own eyes were real.
"Looks as if it's gotten worse."
"He's going to sweat through the sheets soon."
"Hmm," a kind, warm, and familiar voice somehow seemed to be the most important one to focus on in that moment to Natsu and he did not try to place the origins of the others surrounding him. "It seems to be an illness brought on by nightmares."
"Eh? How can that be possible?"
A pause as the warm voice thought for how to explain, "If a mage's nightmares become strong enough to override their own magic an illness untreatable by any pill or herb is created. It's different for each mage and dependent on the level of the nightmares and magic power. For say someone such as Gray the illness may resemble a simple cold and if the dreams are strong enough it may cause it to develop into pneumonia. Such is Natsu's current predicament; his illness started with a simple fever. As time passed the nightmares grew worse and so did the fever."
"Wait," squeaked a familiar tone at his side, "you said that it was untreatable by any pill or herb, right? Does that mean that Natsu is going to," it was unable to finish but the pink haired dragon slayer in question understood the meaning of the words well enough.
"Natsu will live. I can treat it with my own energy. By knowing Natsu's magic signature and having a general concept for the level of his nightmares I can set up a barrier to block the dreams for a while. Don't worry I've done it before."
"Nngh!" Natsu interrupted as his chest pulsed with pain, bringing their attentive eyes over to him, "t-the h-ell is go-ugh-on?" he barely managed the words.
"Natsu," a warm, calloused hand touched his face, "its Erza,"
Erza? He thought, what is she doing here? Hold on, where is here?
He chose to respond with an agitated groan, her touch making his skin burn.
"Natsu, are you still not feeling well?" The high pitched voice from before reminded him of Happy.
He was able to open his eyes a short hair to see a blur put a small hand on the blue cat's head and the pink haired dragon slayer watched briefly as an old and somehow conversant expression gazed at him with oozing concern and hints of rage.
For the strangest reason, the dragon slayer felt compelled to apologize.
"We've brought master back with us, he says he can help you," Erza continued gently, motherly. All compulsion to apologize was gone in that instant and he did his best to scowl, don't talk to me like I'm a newborn.
He could have sworn he heard Gray grumble, "what's with that expression? Idiot's had enough time to sleep as it is." But pain swept the words away again and he sucked in a rapid intake of air.
"This may hurt a little Natsu, but I'm going to need you to put up with it for me."
"Oi!" someone said worriedly. Natsu could vaguely feel an old withered hand replace Erza's on his forehead for the slightest of moments before he felt the agony overwhelm him once more and he snarled, wanting to toss his head and avoid the touch but lacking the energy to do so. One second he was freezing his ass off the next his skin was blistering in scalding hellfire. Drops of sweat raced each other across his skin, his ears picking up and amplifying the sound of his own breathing. His nose caught the coppery scent of blood coming from down the hall and soaking through his chest, strong herbs and powerful medicines making him gag no matter what vicinity they were present in. Jumbled words passed around like decks of cards above him but he was too focused on his own to even think about trying to decipher them. He ground his teeth together and scrunched up his nose, brow furrowing and charcoal eyes kept locked tight behind his eyelids. Was it far, far too bright or was it so dark that he couldn't see his hand three centimeters away?
However, as time went by the pain steadily began to lift more and more and soon enough his body temperature regained normality, all traces of illness lifting. To Natsu that 'soon enough' part felt like years and it seemed that his guild master felt similar as he stood back panting.
His breathing had become even and calm, the bed was warm- not icy hot, but warm- and even if it was less than half, he was awake. These people, Erza, Gray, Lucy, Happy, and Gramps, were real.
"Master, are you alright?" Erza asked worriedly, armor clanking as she took as step forward towards the tired man.
"Yeah, I'm 100%," the man grinned. "But I think I may take a nap."
Natsu was able to smile just slightly, "thanks, gramps," he muttered and then sleep consumed him.
And for the first time in a long time he was able to sleep peacefully with dreams of wreaking friendly havoc on the guild, terrorizing Lucy and fighting with his equals.
tictictictic
There was the sound of rain against the window pane when he next woke.
Patpapatpatpat
Drops shattering against the sidewalk and pavement.
Rrrrrr rrrrr rrrrrr
Followed by the off placed purring at his side. Unlike all the other times he'd awoken with Happy dragging the sheets down next to him, Natsu could sense another presence aside from the blue exceed's next to him. Opening his eyes to a half-lidded form he turned his gaze to Happy, rumbling softly from his comfortable position next to him, and Gramps, sitting with his arms folded over his chest and his head bowed. Natsu could see a small snot bubble rising and falling under the shadow of his wacky hat. Sighing gently so as to avoid agitating his side, the pink haired dragon slayer stared up at the ceiling feeling dazed for a few moments and trying to piece together the situation.
A hospital? Oh yeah, he'd been injured by Ikaku and then gotten ill. He vaguely remembered waking up- if that's what you could call that- and hearing the Gramp's voice. He'd done something to him to push back down his fever and Natsu didn't like how familiar that thought was. It's just like when I first joined the guild. When nightmares like those still… he left the thought unfinished.
"Natsu?" asked a sleepy voice and he looked down to see Happy sitting right next to him, the purring having ceased. The poor creature's little blue ears sagged down and his tail hung limply off the side of the bed as a pair of big, groggy, innocent orbs stared at him, hoping they weren't dreaming.
Natsu gave as big a grin as he could; "hey, sleep well?"
Those blue ears perk right up and the tail lifts. Suddenly a pair of white wings explode out of Happy's back and he thrusts his little body right into Natsu's face with a cry of undulated joy.
In doing so he aroused the other occupants in the room who Natsu had failed to notice. As Erza, Gray, Lucy, and Gramps slowly woke he propped himself up on an elbow, trying not to wince, as he listened to the young exceed sob from his position buried into his neck.
"A-and you were all sw-sweaty" hiccup, "and really, re-re-really h-hot ," sob, sniffle, "an-d every-everyone said that y-you were r-real," another hiccup, "-ly doin bad and, and, and if I had th-that f-fish right now-w I'd h-hit you with i-it," the little cat finalized. The surprised recipient of his worries was unsure of how to handle the situation until Happy burrowed into his neck a little more and whispered very quietly.
"Never, never do that again. Dad."
It pretty much took all of Natsu's willpower to keep from blushing and sputtering and denying it at the start. But in the end he smiled brightly and said;
"I promise."
His chin then proceeded to collide with his collar bone as Gramps gave him a harsh smack upside the head.
"Idiot!" he screeched at the now very dizzy Natsu, "what the hell were you thinking, taking on all of this alone?"
Oh shit, the pink haired dragon slayer thought, feeling very much like a mouse caught between a cat's paws.
"You had us all extremely worried," Erza lectured, confident that he was alright due to the master's smack.
"Yeah, you could have died!" Lucy agreed. Oh how she wanted to hug him and slap him and scream at him, letting lose all of her concern and irritation over the past few days flood out.
He found himself grating foreheads with Gray, "What do you think families are for, squinty eyes?"
"I haven't the slightest clue as to what you're talking about, ya dirty stripper," he snarled back, still slightly dazed.
"Why didn't you tell us you were having nightmares?" Gray howled in his face and Natsu froze for a moment. Gray, with his arms folded over his bare chest, continued to glare at his friend's suddenly surprised expression, waiting for an answer.
"I explained to them that those nightmares had to have been affecting you for some time to be powerful enough to sicken you. Your meeting with Ikaku likely pushed them into that level, but beforehand they would have had to have roots to start from," admitted Makarov from where he sat on the bed. Natsu glared at his sheets for a while, forcing Gray back in the process, wanting nothing more than to convince them that he was ok so he could deal with the problems himself. That's how it always was with this, he could handle it alone. But he knew that if he said this aloud it would only cause more trouble and he didn't wish to worry his friends. Beside him, Happy made a worried sound with his throat.
Gramps was studying his face for a few moments before he sighed and leaned back, "They aren't locked away for good, you know."
"Eh?" Lucy said, "I thought you said you put them behind a barrier."
"They're at a different level than the barrier is," Natsu explained, still not able to meet her eyes, "they come back every few years. I've already had them for a while as is."
"And you've been living with them since when?" demanded Erza.
"Two and a half months."
Silence. The atmosphere around them grew heavy and Lucy hated how much the look on her friends face scared her. He didn't seem like Natsu at all, those eyes were just not him anymore. As the conversation continued she felt like he was drifting ever more away from her.
"Screw 'roots' that's a whole damn tree!" growled Gray, "And you still haven't answered my earlier question."
The waters dragging him out into the darkness.
"Because it's not your damn problem," Natsu spat back.
Pulling him down and back, away from her outstretched hand.
"Of course it's my fucking problem!" the black haired mage raged in return.
She wanted to scream for him as her friend did, he was leaving them.
"Gray." The master's voice held warning in it and said teen quieted himself. "Natsu, in order for these dreams to stop you're going to need to do something about them."
But she just couldn't move.
"I know."
Becoming a complete stranger.
"So you're going to tell us as much as you can about them."
Lapped up by the greedy waves that gorged themselves on his clear despair.
Natsu froze and looked up at his master, horror flicking briefly through his charcoal eyes.
She could see him practically waving goodbye, taking his sunny smile along with him as the waves carried him away.
"If you don't then they aren't going to leave you alone, Natsu," he stated calmly.
Like when she lost her mother.
"I suppose then I should just live with them then," came the cold reply.
That was when the slap of palm against cheek broke him out of his sulking and placed him in a pool of surprise.
None other than Lucy looked down at his stunned face, no one able to say a thing in reaction.
"I had thought that we trusted each other, Natsu," she whispered and then asked; "why is it you invite yourself into other people's lives so quickly but can't allow them to do the same?" She raised her head, tears pricking at the edges of her eyes, "aren't our bonds stronger than this?"
Natsu tried to ignore how dramatic it was getting and considering the fact that Lucy was on the verge of crying he did that pretty well.
"I'm sorry," he said, almost pleading, "don't cry, please." A stray tear fell and Natsu almost physically winced as the atmosphere grew heavier, plummeting the weight of each of his friends concerns on his shoulders. Ow, that really hurt. "O-okay!" he said, seeing another tear, "okay, I'll tell you guys about one of them at least, just stop that!"
Lucy, not having faked a single salty stream, nodded and brushed them out of her eyes.
Her pink haired companion dropped his gaze to the sheets once more, murmuring to himself; "I'd hoped to keep you guys ignorant and preserve your innocence."
To which Gray heard and snorted, "innocence and ignorance?" he scoffed, "Natsu I lost my family to a giant hell demon, Erza's best childhood friend tried to kill her, and Lucy's dad decimated his daughters life just to sell her off! We've seen the dark side of life too, squinty-eyed-dumbass!"
Makarov noticed Natsu briefly look at Happy and realized the boy's concern for him. He wasn't the only one as Erza saw it as well.
"Happy, why don't you go get us some lunch?" she offered.
The blue exceed in question whirled, "no way!" he cried, "I want to get to know Natsu better too!"
"Ah, but I'm getting so hungry," Natsu complained, breaking out of his own thoughts and the suffocating drama, "if you don't I'm going to eat all of your fish the second we get home," he threatened. Happy immediately raced to get the money from Erza and flew out the window.
The evil expression on his face disappeared the second he left Natsu's line of sight. Putting his hands behind his neck he looked up at the ceiling, attempting to call up a dream to talk about. Grey would realize soon enough that the world had shown him nothing.
"There's one where I kill off an entire village not too far from here," he said. He expected outraged cries, denial, for them to say he'd never do that.
He received no response.
"You're going to have to get a lot more detailed than that," huffed Gramps.
"The day I met you," Natsu returned, just as unamused as he.
Descending silence again.
It took a while from there to get Natsu to actually describe the dream and when he did it left them without voices, horrified. Erza felt amazed that the young dragon slayer hadn't gone insane with dreams holding such gruesome attributes, she herself having never had such. Lucy and Gray both realized then what he had meant by 'innocence'.
"W-well, it's just a dream, right?" Lucy desperately tried to get the fear from her voice. Natsu's dry laugh was horrifying.
"If only the world was so kind, Lucy," he said, "that dream is based from real memories, I actually went around murdering innocent children. And hell, if Gramps hadn't come along I have half a mind to think that I might've started to eat people."
"Stop! That's enough Natsu! There's no way you'd ever do that. I'm sure that you were forced to by that guild, what did they threaten you with?" Erza demanded.
"Nothing," he announced shamefully, gripping his sheets tightly as his friends expanded their visions. "I did it of my own will," he put his head in his hands, shaking. "And to be honest," Natsu whispered slowly, "I'm terrified that I'll do it again."
"Idiot," grunted Gray, "if you ever even thought about trying it I'd beat you down and tear you a new one. Besides, it's not like your that weak anymore. You're a Fairy Tail wizard and in our guild we don't how to stop moving forward. So no way in hell are you going to move back."
Erza gave a nod, smiling at Natsu reassuringly, "if anything the fact that you managed to stop murdering people altogether proves your own strength. You have had more than one opportunity to do it these past years and you haven't gone any farther than rendering your opponent immobile. If you could do it then than you can do it now."
Lucy put a hand on his shoulder, inviting the dragon slayer to lift his head and look at her, "and even if you can't stop the urge we'll be here to protect you, just as you protect us. Weaknesses are what make people human and no human has been designed to bare all their burdens alone."
The salmon-haired mage felt his eyes grow a little wider at that. It may have even been the first time anyone had directly called him human. Igneel had taught him, long, long ago that all life was equal. Each living organism's existence was as important as the last and it was vital that they lived to respect each other. They were all equals, not one greater than the last. Without the foliage the deer would not survive, without the deer he could not eat it for survival. Every worm that nurtures the plants, every silver fish swimming through the river, and every tiny fly helped one another to survive. And humans, while destructive and violent, could not live without each other as well. Without equals to fight, without companions, without the joy he was brought every day, Natsu knew that he would have died long ago.
Humans fight.
And humans protect.
That is why they are human.
He finally understood Gramp's words from back then, when he'd been so confused over the carefree benevolence and naïve ways of life he'd encountered after first joining Fair Tail. That old geezer was smiling ear to ear, remembering the same thing as his young salamander.
His friend's mirrored the Fairy Tail masters grin, welcoming, forgiving.
Natsu beamed back for the first time in several weeks.
"Yeah."
The other Ending-
After that Happy, flying with several bags held in his paws, flew back through the open window and dropped them right on top of Gray's head, ignoring the ice mages protest and taking a seat next to Natsu on the bed. Seeing the familiar flame in his friend/father-figures eyes returned wiped away any and all questions he would have thrown at them and found him fighting Gray when he refused to give the blue exceed his fish.
Makarov had asked the pink haired dragon slayer what he wanted to do regarding the rising conflict with the Ippiki Oomaki guild as they watched Happy tug on the teen's black hair. Natsu, after thinking it over briefly with a mouth full of inferno hot gyoza decided he'd talk with Master Kentoushi on his own once the hospital let him loose. They had all protested against it at first but Natsu had managed to convince them to lay low.
"There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Kentoushi would slaughter you all in an instant. That guild doesn't hold back. Ever. They go at you with full strength and if you expect a battle like the kind we normally have with our enemies then you'll lose your head faster than you can blink. It'll be easier to get him to stand down if I talk with him alone," he'd explained to them.
"What makes you think he's going to sit down and chat with you and not try and kill you?" Gray asked.
"Considering the fact that they want me alive to take out everyone in Giran I'm pretty sure that isn't going to happen. Besides, Kentoushi is too afraid of me anyway," he then stuffed a leg of spicy chicken into his mouth to finalize the conversation, making it known that this was what he had decided and that no one could stop him.
It was a full two weeks before Natsu was released from the hospital with warnings to rest, threatened by the doctor that if he went on any jobs at all he'd come out and find the teen and rip off all his stiches. Rather nervous at the sound of such threat, the dragon slayer nodded stiffly.
From there the group had gone back to their apartment to begin packing and somewhere along the way Natsu had disappeared. No one, not even Happy had seen him go at all. One moment he was there, the next he was gone. For two and a half hours they waited his return and just when they were beginning to think that something had gone wrong with his 'negotiations' with the guild master of death he waltzed through the door. Completely unscathed he grinned at them.
HAHAHAHAHAHA, WHAT THE HELL HAVE I JUST WRITTEN? :D